Episode 1: Chimaera
by EllenEvhe
Summary: This is a continuation of the show. I personally think it deserved another season. One where the love triangle would finally be resolved once and for all, and where I got to dig further into Bo's and Lauren's family history. First episode of my 6th season introduces a new villain, Bo and Dr Lewis need to stop him, while also figuring out the parameters of their new relationship.
1. Chimaera: Chapter 1

**Chimaera**

 **Chapter 1**

Bo looked at her hand in Lauren's as they slid off the hood of the car together and smiled. Kenzi was heading for the south of Spain with Dagny. Dyson was meeting up with his son Mark. The last couple of days had been emotional and draining, and everyone of Bo's family had felt the urge to be with the ones they loved most. Bo and Lauren had spent hours laying on the hood of the car, watching the sun set, being happy to be alive and to have each other.

'Let's go'

'Home?' 'Wherever that is'

'Good point. Crack shack gone, Kenzi gone,..'

I'm here' Lauren replied looking into Bo's eyes 'Dyson is, well…around'

Bo smiled and pulled her girlfriend to her. She kissed her and softly whimpered as the kiss deepened.

'Well, for what I have planned with you tonight, Doc, I don't need Dyson'

Lauren grinned widely and as Bo's fingertips traveled into Lauren's neck, she sighed and felt the familiar 'Bo shiver' go down her spine.

Dinner and a Star Trek Voyager episode? Lauren teased and giggled

I was thinking more like dessert and, well… I wouldn't mind going where no one else has gone before on Starship Lauren.'

'Oh my god, you are a Trekkie!' Lauren laughed out loud

'The impact you have on me, Dr Lewis!' Bo grinned.

Lauren laughed again and as Bo sparked the Camero's engine to life and set course to Dr Lewis' apartment, she couldn't imagine being any happier.

 **Lauren's apartment**

Red lights were torture for Bo as Lauren looked breathtaking in the car with the evening lights cascading on her skin and mixing in with the warm shade her aura emanated. It was enough to make Bo want to stop the car by the side of the road, and expose every inch of skin with her mouth and tongue. Instead she stepped on the gas.

From the moment Bo shut the door of the apartment behind them, Lauren had her pinned up against it. She had spent months away from Bo's bed, and would not let another night be wasted like that. She slipped her hand under Bo's shirt and gasped feeling the soft skin under her fingertips. Her right hand traveled up Bo's neck and pulled her lips in for a kiss. All Lauren could smell was Bo, the scent of her hair and neck made her weak in the knees and she held onto Bo to steady herself. Lauren knew smell to be the most powerful trigger for emotions and memories, but she had never been able to explain the depth of her feelings for Bo. It was irrational, unexplainable and unscientific.

Bo let a soft sigh escape as she felt Lauren's fingertips graze the outline of her bra. With the edge of her tongue she found Lauren's lips again, and almost growled as Lauren's tongue found her own. Bo's need for Lauren overwhelmed her, and feverishly she yanked off Lauren's clothes sending her tank top whizzing through the living room. Breathing heavily, the couple made their way up the stairs, kissing and pulling, unbuttoning and almost tripping over the trail of clothes they left behind. They tumbled onto the bed and Bo quickly found Lauren's nipple to flick her tongue over. Lauren bucked her hips now moaning into Bo's ears. Bo tightened her grip and slid her hands over Lauren's hips, pulling her closer. She followed Lauren's pace and suckled and flicked Lauren's nipple between ragged breaths.

Lauren gasped, bit her lip and arched her back in pure delight. For months she had been longing for this moment, aching and lusting for Bo's touch. So many nights she'd spent missing Bo, longing for her just to be near. Gorgeous, irresistible, insatiable, smart, funny and passionate Bo now wanted nerdy Lauren and finally having the woman she admired and loved so much touching her again this way felt like electricity running through her every nerve ending. Her brain short-circuited, unable to think, only to feel, and all she could do was surrender to that feeling. Bo was kissing her again and letting her fingertips trail over the inside of Lauren's thighs.

'Please Bo, I want you inside of me' Lauren begged.

Bo leaned in and kissed Lauren's bottom lip softly continuing her languid strokes, she ran her tongue over Lauren's upper lip and slipped her fingers inside of Lauren as their mouths found one another again. Lauren's body almost convulsed unto Bo's fingers and her entire body now only knew one rhythm, one movement,… Bo's.

Lauren's warm, sticky essence coating the succubus's fingers, made Bo's eyes flare from brown to blue to brown again and she thrust her fingers even deeper into Lauren wanting to feel every part of her. She kissed the blonde again and then slowly, but purposefully made her way down to Lauren's bellybutton in kisses. With her expert fingers keeping their slow seductive rhythm in and out of Lauren, Bo's head was now between Lauren's legs. Lauren was gorgeous, she felt exquisite and her scent made Bo shiver.

'My god, Lauren. I've wanted you for so long now' and with that Bo removed her fingers and dipped her tongue inside of Lauren for the most wonderful of desserts.

 **Hours later**

Lauren was wide awake. She was exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. Spooned against her was the gorgeous brunette she had fallen for so many years ago. The sight of her still commanded the same stirrings: the quickened heartbeat when she was near, the involuntary and inappropriate staring she would fall into and the utter disbelief that this beauty was here, inside her bed.

But none of these things kept Lauren from sleep. An unsettling feel of loss came over her as she watched Bo's quiet breathing. Lauren was so happy now, she didn't want this moment to end, she wanted to stay there forever, hold Bo and be held by Bo, always. Her irrational fear that they were living on borrowed time, brought tears to her eyes. She leaned in and softly kissed Bo's cheek before she finally drifted off to sleep.

For a long time after their lovemaking, Bo could still feel Lauren's arms around her. They had felt protective, warm, loving,… all the wonderful things she had come to associate with the doctor, but something was wrong. With her back to the blonde, she couldn't feel or hear her breathing and Bo's mind whirled back to all those times she woke up next to a dead lover. An all overpowering panic took hold of her. She turned in her lover's arms and felt the rigidity of those arms as she did. When she laid eyes on Lauren's face it was contorted in an horrendous expression..

LAUREN!LAUREN! NO!

Lauren was awake with a jolt, the panic in Bo's voice cutting like a knife. She turned to a face in turmoil crying out.

LAUREN! DON'T TOUCH HER! LAUREN!

Bo? BO? BO!

BO, wake up! Bo, baby, please wake up!

Lauren was now cradling a sobbing Bo in her arms, rocking her back and forth, her heart beating a 1000 beats per minute as Bo's torment continued.

'It's okay, baby, just wake up. It's just a bad dream' shhhhh' 'I'm right here'

Bo's eyes opened, a blurry Lauren coming into focus, but the shock had been too great to fully register that Lauren was ok. Only seconds ago she… and it had all felt so palpably real. Bo pushed herself up into a desperate hug.

'I love you so much, Lauren' 'Please don't leave me' she blurted through her tears and panic

Bo repeated her words 4 times before her sobbing quieted down and she fell back asleep. Lauren held her for the rest of the night. Restless, she would wake up every 20 minutes or so checking to see if Bo was okay.

 **The next morning**

Lauren stood at the kitchen counter clutching the cup of coffee she hoped would steady her nerves. She was on her third. The last couple of weeks had been brutal, last night should have been all about happiness and being glad to be alive, but the lovers' first night together again had turned out very differently. It had started out blissfully happy, but Bo's shrieks of sheer panic had Lauren thinking that the worst was yet to come. The look on Lauren's face evidently reflected how she felt…

'Don't look so worried, Doc' Bo said as she strode confidently as ever towards her. Grabbing her jacket from the sofa, Bo looked amazing all dressed in black leather again.

'I'm a doctor, Bo. I've perfected this look over the years' Lauren deepened her sad inquisitive look to the point of ridiculous and made Bo laugh out loud.

'You are cute!'

'Are we going to talk about this?'

'Don't worry babe, I've been stressed, the last couple of weeks…' Bo sighed .. 'A lot has happened,..' Anyway, it was just a nightmare, I'm sorry I scared you, but there is nothing to worry about.

Lauren nodded and seemingly accepted Bo's explanation with a small smile

'And what about that other elephant in the room?' 'That power you had when you confronted your father…'

Bo flinched at the word 'father' and inhaled sharply.

'I know, I know,… Well, actually,… I don't know' I'm not sure what that was, or where that came from' 'We'll talk about that too, but later?' 'I've got to run, Dyson just texted and he wants to see me at the Dal, says it's urgent'

'Okay, tell him I said 'Hi' Lauren pecked Bo's lips and watched her walk out the door.

 **The Dal Riata**

As Bo stepped into the Dal Riata, she felt a wave of sadness wash over her. She had become so used to seeing her grandfather's smile greeting her and the realization that she would never see him again almost made Bo believe that last night had indeed been about stress and the losses of the last couple of weeks. Instead, she saw Dyson's face pop up from behind the counter, and she managed a smile. It was good to see him. Knowing Dyson was there, taking care of the place, made the loss of Trick almost bearable. She crossed the room in confident strides and gave Dyson a tight hug. The wolf squeezed her in return.

'It's so good to see you, here…'

'Well, he did leave it to me, I wasn't about to close it down'

Bo broke the hug, shrugging off the memory of Trick

'You wanted to see me, sounded urgent?'

'Yes' 'We have a case'

' A what now?'

Dyson didn't respond, but simply pulled out a police badge on a lanyard and handed it to her.

'Congratulations, partner'

Bo looked at the badge with her name on it and then back to Dyson. It looked real.

'Wha…how did you?'

Dyson grinned like a 13-year-old.

The 14-year-old in Bo grinned back and hung the badge around her neck.

'Alright, I'm game. Where are we going?'

'Harbor'

 **The harbor**

Bo stepped out of Dyson's car overlooking the harbor. Hundreds of boats swayed softly in the breeze, and Bo inhaled deeply. She loved the smell of water, the sound of seagulls and the way the air felt cooler on her skin here. For a moment, and in between the time it took for the car door to actually close after Dyson had slammed it shut behind him, it seemed as if time was slowing down. Behind the cries of the seagulls, she could hear the wings of the birds flapping against the wind, she even thought she could hear their hearts beating, but the sounds of police officers talking over their walkie talkies, and people running back and forth brought her back to reality. She could make out the yellow/black tape marking the crime scene and followed Dyson in.

She wasn't prepared for what she saw next. On a bench overlooking the river, she could see the outline of a person slumped over, but as they rounded the bench, she realized that the outline of a man was the only thing that made this shell even remotely recognizable as such.

The only thing Bo could see was dried skin that had turned a deep shade of brown, because what stared back at her had no face to recognize. Where the eyes, mouth and nose should be, Bo could only make out holes. There was no jawline, in fact, as Bo looked at the thing in front of her, she realized that this person didn't seem to have a bone in his body.

'Omg' Bo exclaimed. 'What happened to him?' It's like he's been sucked dry of….everything…

'I've never seen this before' Dyson said ' I can't even smell if he was Fae or human' 'He smells like nothing I've smelled before. The closest scent I can think of is rotted leaves, but even that…'

'I'd better call Lauren' Dyson nodded and turned to one of the young police officers on the scene and gestured him over.

'Brad, what do we know about the vic?'

The young police officer looked at his notepad.

'his name is Jake Sullivan, age 39, lives on NE street. He's an architect, pretty good one too. Married, two kids age 9 and 7 'The guys did a background check on him and…'

Brad's voice trailed off as Bo heard the dial tone

 **Evony's house**

Lauren looked mighty pleased with herself as she walked out off of Evony's mansion. She'd gone to the house with a plan and the outcome had been better than she could have ever imagined. Today hadn't started out well, but it was starting to look up, and she couldn't wait to tell Bo her news.

Lauren's cellphone sang Bo's tune. 'Think of the devil'

'Suck -ubus 911' 'How can I be of assistance today?' Lauren asked in her most husky voice

Bo flustered at Lauren's cheeky answer. It didn't take much for Bo to think about sex, especially not sex with Lauren, but actually blushing over those memories was new to her, it just wasn't the succubus way!

'Eh'  
'Can you come?' she said awkwardly 'I mean, come over?'  
'Dyson and I need your expertise' she recovered

'Sure, hotness' 'Wait, actually, 'I can't…'

'Huh?'

'I just quit, I'm unaligned now!

'You did what now?'

'Yup, did that today! Seemed like a very good idea like two minutes ago, but…that actually means I have no lab at my disposal,…Well, actually, technically I still have the lab until the end of the week… '

'Great, we need you at the harbor, I'll text you the address'

I'll be there in 20 minutes'

Bo hung up and frowned. What was wrong with her today? What a strange sensation blushing was, she couldn't remember the last time that had happened. Had it ever happened before?

'Weird' she turned to Dyson. 'Lauren said she'll be here in 20' 'I also just blushed and Lauren is unemployed'

Dyson raised a brow 'You blushed?'

'I know, …right?' 'I need a double expresso.

 **Still the harbor**

One double expresso and one tall vanilla latte later, Bo and Dyson saw Lauren pull up in a black Mercedes CLA Coupe. The car was beautiful, but the blonde stepping out of the car was stunning.

Bo wiggled her eyebrows checking out her girlfriend mouthing ' You look gorgeous' as Lauren said hello to Dyson.

'Doc, you sure you want to quit the Dark side?' 'They sure do have swanky rides' Dyson commented

'Actually, that's one of Evony's cars, she's letting me borrow it for the week, until I get my own'

'Not so unemployed then' Bo mumbled to Dyson

'So,..' Lauren asked looking from Bo to Dyson 'What's going on?'

 **10 minutes later**

'This is amazing! ' Lauren said excited. Crouching at eyelevel with the parchment being, she took a scalpel and vial out of her bag. With expert hands, she made just the tiniest of incisions, collecting very small pieces of dried skin and put them in a plastic bag.

'I've never seen anything like this before' 'Neat!' Lauren was giddy as a school girl, making Bo grin inwardly. She loved it when Lauren geeked out. There was just something about seeing Lauren excited that made Bo happy.

Well, I've got my samples, and the body will be transferred to my lab' 'I'll see what I can find out' 'I'll let you know'

See you tonight? Bo asked.

'Course, where else are you going to sleep?'

Bo grinned widely.

'Bye Dyson'

The wolf caught Bo's goofy grin and clenched his jaw.

'Bye Lauren'

Bo turned towards Dyson

'The victim's family?'

'Next stop, indeed'

 **The Sullivan residence**

Jake Sullivan lived in a residential area, the house he and his family occupied was a large brick house, modern but made homely by a beautifully planted, colorful garden. It was the type of garden Bo pictured a warm nested family playing soccer or tag in. Knowing that they would have to tell this family that one of them wouldn't be coming back, broke her heart.

Opening the door was Jenna Sullivan, an attractive woman. Her green eyes had a kind glow to them, from behind her two sets of very similar eyes also gazed on the shifter and the succubus.

'Yes?' 'How can I help you?' 

Ma'am, we're with the Quebec police force. Dyson held up his badge  
'This is in regards to your husband. May we come in please?'

'Of course' 'Is everything okay?'

'I am afraid, I have some bad news, Ma'am' 'Perhaps you would like to call someone to take care of the kids?' Dyson's tone was collected, but warm and thoughtful, and Bo loved him for it.

Jenna's face turned pale

'Rohan, Nathan' she said turning to the inquisitive eyes behind her  
'Go pack your stuff' 'You're staying with aunt Ally tonight'

Both boys nodded and disappeared bounding up the stairs.

'My sister lives down the street' 'I'll call her to come pick up the kids'  
'Please come in'

Bo and Dyson followed Jenna Sullivan into a beautiful, huge house. Light filtered into the hall from the upstairs glass dome, reflecting off the walls and bathing the house in sunlight. The living room opened up to the garden behind it with wall to wall and floor to ceiling windows. The house couldn't have been more than a couple of years old, yet the inside was decorated with period furniture. It was a perfect blend of old and new. Bo couldn't help but like this woman.

Dyson and Bo sat down on the couch as Jenna Sullivan called her sister. When she came back, she took a seat opposite them and inhaled.

'He's dead, isn't he?'

The look on Jenna's face was calm, she had said her words almost as if she had expected this news.

'I am afraid so, Ma'am'

Jenna bit her lip and nodded her head.

'He…'  
'Oh my god, Jake..' Jenna's composure crumbled and she sobbed repeating her husband's name.

Bo moved to the edge of the seat and instinctively reached for Jenna's hand.

I am so sorry for your loss' the succubus said as her skin glowed orange and she used her energy to calm the woman down.

Jenna Sullivan looked down at Bo's hand on hers with some degree of fascination

'You're a succubus aren't you?'


	2. Chimaera: Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **The Dark Fae lab**

Lauren sat bent over her microscope checking samples and exhaled. She was studying the skin that she had collected from the victim, but it wasn't telling her more than the assessment Bo had made.  
Something or someone had drained Jake Sullivan of all of the fluids, soft tissue, even bones he had had in his body. There was nothing left of him but dead cells. It had mystified Lauren. Here was a killer, who could drain the life out of a person without leaving a trace. She thought of Bo and how powerful it made Bo when she took somebody's Chi. How powerful was this creature or how deadly was this thing?

Lauren needed more evidence, she knew she hadn't missed a thing at the crime scene. She had had her lab technicians run around collecting every sample of any and all places she could think of, but perhaps she could find something in the house of the victim. As of yet, she didn't know what this thing was, be it virus, creature, fungus,…but she was determined to find out.

 **The Sullivan residence**

Bo's mouth dropped, Dyson's reaction was a little more collected.

'You're not Fae'

No, I'm not, but I can tell a shifter from a succubus. Jenna Sullivan said aggressively as she eyed Dyson.

Dyson's eyes shifted to black, ready for his wolf to engage. This conversation had taken a strange turn and the tension was now palpable.

Bo felt Dyson's change of mood and moved between the wolf and the human.

'Jenna, we're not here to harm you'

Jenna's eyes settled on Bo's and lost their defiance

'You're the unaligned succubus'

'You've heard of me?' Yes, I am, we're here to investigate what happened to your husband' 'We don't mean you any harm'

'You don't?' 'I guess you're here to tell me it was the Dark Fae that killed him, huh?

'Bo kept Jenna's gaze 'Jenna, I don't know who or what killed your husband.'  
'We were hoping you could help us figure that out'

Jenna Sullivan nodded her head.

'I apologize' she said. 'I'm not used to the Fae being kind, or even 'decent' to me'  
In fact, I've been waiting for this moment for years' Jenna continued bitterly 'I knew 'they' would kill him one day'

'They?' Dyson asked

You, the Fae! 'His family' 'All of the above' Jenna replied angrily. 'I'm human, he's Fae'….was Fae', she corrected herself.

'Tell us what happened' Bo said encouragingly.

Jenna inhaled and nodded her head before speaking. 'Jake and I fell in love at college. 'He was gorgeous, sweet, smart, funny' 'But, his family was against the relationship' 'I always thought they just needed to warm up to me, you know?'…Jenna said laughing at her own naiveté. 'I had no idea there was actually another world out there who considered me 'less' than a person.' Jenna paused, tears were running down her face. She wiped at them and blew her nose. When she spoke again, anger laced her voice.  
'In their eyes, I was food, a slave at best!' 'And they are supposed to be the more evolved kind?' She let the question hang. Her look pinned the two Fae seated on her couch. Dyson's face held little expression, Bo's jaw was visibly clenched in anger.  
Jenna shook her head as if trying to shake her anger, when the blonde's thoughts shifted back to her husband, tears filled her eyes again 'Jake refused to claim me, he refused to play along' 'We married, and that's when the death threats started…''I never fully grasped how powerful his family was before that' We changed our names, ran, eventually to the Dark Fae, and they sheltered us, hid us, till now…

'What was your husband's real name?' Dyson asked.

'Descamps' Jenna replied hesitantly 'Jacques Descamps'

Bo saw Dyson frown and gave him a questioning look

'How did it happen?' 'What did they do to him?' Jenna demanded to know.

'We're not sure' Bo offered.

'Can I see him?'

'I don't think that's a good idea' 'His body hasn't been released yet' 'We are still running tests' Dyson said.

'Tests?' Jenna asked with an unsteady voice 'What does that mean?' 'Why can't I just see him, he's my husband!'

Bo put her hands on Jenna's again.

'It means that we are still trying to figure out what happened to him' 'As soon as we know more, he will be released and you will be able to see him'

Bo's reassuring touch worked her magic, pulling Jenna back from the brink of a mental break. So far she had been incredibly strong, but the thought of her husband lying alone in some lab, cut open, being experimented on had been an overload to her entire being.

The doorbell rang.

'That's my sister, probably' 'One moment'

Jenna left the room to answer the door, and Bo turned to Dyson

'What's the deal with the Descamps?'

'They're one of the most powerful and wealthy families out there. Dyson sighed. 'Dark Fae, not to be trifled with.' 'I know the Jacques Descamps story, he was their only son, destined to continue the legacy/empire..' 'She could be right, this might be them.'

'They would kill their only son for marrying a human?'

'You've seen how the Light Fae treated Lauren' 'To a family as powerful as the Descamps, killing their son would be seen as the only honorable thing to do'

Bo growled in disgust. She had never understood and would never understand the way Fae treated humans.

In the background the doorbell rang again.

 **Outside the Sullivan residence**

Lauren rang the doorbell of number 305 on North East Street. By now the police should have already stopped by to break the devastating news to Jake Sullivan's family. She hoped her presence now would be reassuring, seen as a sign that the police was hard on the case, and that it would not cause the family even greater pain.

'Lauren?' The woman behind the door asked incredulously.

'Jenna?' Lauren answered with equal surprise.

'You married Jake' Lauren said in one awful realization ' I am so sorry'

'He's dead, Lauren' Lauren crossed the threshold of the door and did what instinct told her to do, she hugged her best friend from college tightly to her.

 **10 minutes later**

Jenna sat on the sofa, trying to absorb what Lauren had just told her.

'When can I see him?'

'We're still running tests, honey' Lauren said 'But, I will make sure he is released within 48 hours'

Jenna looked at her gratefully.

'You've always been a great friend, Lauren' 'Thank you'

The blonde gave her old friend the best smile she could manage

'I'm here if you need me'

'Jenna, did you notice anything strange about Jake lately?' Bo asked gently

'No' 'Jake was Jake'

Jenn, would you mind if I took samples from the house?' I want to see if anything 'unusual' pops up.

'No, course not, Lauren'

Lauren stood up and with her, Dyson and Bo also rose to their feet.

'I'll collect samples and stay here with her for the rest of the afternoon if need be' the blonde spoke softly to Bo and Dyson. 'I can't leave her alone like this'

Bo and Dyson nodded. Bo gently touched Lauren's shoulder eying Jenna and then resting her eyes on Lauren.

'Take care of her'

'Time for us to pay the Descamps family a visit'

'Bo, please be careful' 'the Descamps are..'

Worse than Hades, God of the underworld?' Bo quipped as she was throwing on her jacket.

'Just be careful' the blonde rolled her eyes.

'Yes, doctor' Bo said with a smirk

 **The Descamps residence**

Who lives like this? Bo exclaimed as Dyson and she pulled up to the Descamps mansion.

It had taken them 10 minutes alone to drive from the entrance of the estate to the actual house. Now towering up before them was a Palladian manor house that seemed to emerged from the plateau it was built upon. A grand white marble staircase spanning the width of the house, and featuring a huge fountain in the middle connected the ground floor level to the terrace. Lining every other step were statues of the Greek gods of mythology Bo had come to know as 'The other side of the family. Reaching the top of the staircase, Bo thought she recognized the centerpiece statue as that of Hermes, god of travelers and thieves. Covered in gold, a 4 meter tall Hermes reached for the sky from yet another gigantic fountain.

No doubt this house was built to impress and awe, but Bo couldn't help but chuckle at the pompous grandeur of it all. Bo was still taking in the scene when the main door to the house opened and a man in his early sixties stepped out. Impeccably dressed, his eyes lingered disapprovingly on Bo's outfit.

'I think I should have worn my princess dress' Bo remarked under her breath.

'Come in' he said sternly 'The Master has been expecting you'

Bo's eyebrows raised as the room opened up in front of her. If the outside of the house had been impressive, the inside was overwhelming. She had never seen such a huge entrance hall before in her life, except for maybe that one time she visited New York Grand Central. Marble floors again led up to a domineering stairway and all around the walls and the ceilings were carved out with intricate designs, laced with gold and silver. At the center of it all was a handsome, middle aged man with dark hair and an almost boyish grin looking down on them from the landing of the first floor.

'Welcome to my house, unaligned Succubus'

'I sure do hope you're not planning on having our conversation this way, Louis' Bo shouted up ' You're giving me a crooked neck, why don't you come down a peg?' Next to her, she could feel the wolf grin.

Louis Philippe Jean-Pierre Descamps descended the staircase at an arrogantly slow pace.

'The succubus and the wolf' 'I've heard so much about you' The man dressed in an Armani suit said with an oily smile when he had finally reached the pair.

'Well, you've got me at a disadvantage then, cause I didn't have a clue who you were before today' 'So far, I'd say you were kind of a dick.' Bo replied.

'My, my, and here I thought rumors about your lack of upbringing were exaggerated 'Didn't mom and pops ever teach you to respect your superiors?'

'Superior?' 'How is that?' Bo asked with a chuckle.

'The Descamps descend from the God Hermes' Descamps said with a smug smile.

'Ah yes, those gaudy statues in the garden' 'All you need is a lightshow in your fountain and those would be just as classy as Vegas'

Descamps' face contorted and shifted from his normal features to a creature whose face was in a constant state of flux. 'Don't test me, girly'

'ENOUGH, Descamps' Dyson stepped in. 'Bo, we are here because of Jenna' he said calmer

'Yes, dog' 'that's right, keep your **_bitch_** under control!'

Dyson's eyes shifted to black as they settled on Descamps.

'You know well enough how our last meeting ended' 'Are you so keen to try me again?'

'Feisty as ever I see Dyson'

'You know what we are here for, Louis'

'I didn't have anything to do with that traitor's death' 'But, if you ask me, he had it coming'

Where were you last night around 10pm?' Dyson continued.

'In my office,… working'

Bo could hear the lie on his lips

'Working?' Can anyone vouch for that? Bo interjected.

'No, I don't exactly keep regular office hours' Descamps pinned Bo with a glare, then moved his gaze back to Dyson. 'My aides tend to have gone home at that time of night'

'So you have no alibi'

'You know just as well as I do ,Wolfy, that even if I had had something to do with Jacques' death, I wouldn't have gotten my hands dirty' 'So, you go check and double check on that alibi' 'I'm sure you have your ways to prove what I'm saying'

'You could just make it easy for me and hand me the security footage' Dyson offered with a polite smile.

'I could,…but where is the fun in that?'

This isn't a game, Louis' Dyson said firmly. 'Do you even know HOW your son died?' 'Did you not even care one bit for him?'

'My son and heir died a long time ago, Dyson' 'Luckily, I had a spare'  
'I believe you remember my nephew Geoffrey'

The name Geoffrey made Dyson clench his jaw, his wolf flaring behind his eyes.

'We'll be back, Louis, and we'll be wanting to talk to your precious heir' 'You'd better have some good answers ready when we do'

'Or what?' 'The wrath of the Ash will come down on us?' 'What Ash?'  
'Things are changing Dyson. Quickly. 'I'd be careful if I were you' Descamps' tone was low and menacing.

Dyson turned his back to Descamps with one final silent glare and walked out.

Only seconds after Bo and Dyson heard the gilded front door slam shut behind them, a younger man in his mid-thirties emerged on the landing.

'I take it you were listening?'

Dressed in layers of black fitting leather, the younger man became translucent for a millisecond and then materialized next to Descamps a moment later.

'Yes, father'

'Good, find out what they know about Jacques' 'Observe only for now'  
'Do you understand?'

'Yes, father'

'Good' 'Honor our name, and honor our blood' 'You know what I mean'

'Always' And with that the younger man vanished into thin air.

 **Outside the Descamps Manor**

Bo and Dyson stepped back in the car and drove off leaving the Descamps estate behind. Neither of them had expected a straight answer from the Descamps family, but at least they had an alibi to check and Bo had gotten a sense of who this family was.

'You were right' 'They could have had him killed and not even think twice about it'  
'But why now?'

'Because of the power vacuum' 'You are still new to our politics, Bo, but the Descamps family has influenced local, national and international politics for centuries now' At the moment there is no Ash, there is no Morrigan, the birds of prey are circling.' 'If there is ever a time and place to show just how powerful they are, it's now'

'They're planning a coup?'

Dyson nodded 'That would be my guess'

Bo stared out of the car window, mulling over Dyson's theory, thankful for the breeze that came in. The loss of her grandfather three days ago had had a devastating personal impact, but she knew they would have to address the political fallout from his death as well, she just hoped she would be strong enough to deal with that too.

'Is there room for a new Ash and a new Morrigan?'

Dyson took his eyes off the road momentarily glancing over at Bo.

'What do you mean?'

'We united the Fae'

'Yes, against Hades' 'He's gone now'

'He's not gone, Dyson' Bo's voice carried the strain, anger and anxiety from the last couple of days as it pitched higher than normal.

'He may be back in Tartarus, but my father is not 'gone' 'Nor will he stay gone' Bo felt her entire body tensing. 'The only advantage we have now is time' 'But, I don't know how much we have of that'

'We need to think about this, Bo' 'What you're saying…'

'I know' Bo interrupted him. 'I know'

'We have to sleep on this, and we need to talk about this, as a family'

'And we will, but right now we need to protect Jenna and what is left of her family'

'I had a Fae police detail posted outside the house, but I can't guarantee their safety at night'

Bo knew Dyson was right. With The Morrigan gone, Jenna was left vulnerable, and it was only a matter of time before the Descamps would act.

Dyson took his phone out of his pocket and called his son.

 **The Sullivan Residence**

Lauren had taken all of the samples she could think of at Jenna's place, and she had been eager to slide them under her microscope, but her friend needed her. And so, the doctor had sat with her former college roommate and had listened, had rubbed her back, made her tea and given her a sedative and two sleeping pills. When she would break down crying, Lauren pulled her in for hug. After some time, Jenna finally drifted off and Lauren draped a blanket over her, hopeful her friend would find some solace and much needed rest in sleep.

Opposite the couch Jenna was sleeping on Lauren found a place for the microscope she'd had delivered. Sliding in the last sample, she leaned in gazing into the eyepiece, then sighed, leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes and arched her neck from side to side. 

Nothing.

Again.

Lauren looked at the clock,…5pm. She could check the samples again, but she knew nothing would change by looking at them a third time. There were still hundreds of tests she could run, but she would need to be at the lab for that, and so Lauren found herself in a position she had rarely ever been in. She had nothing to do.

What did people do when they had nothing to do? Read, knit, go play tennis? Maybe she should pursue a hobby. Why not tennis? She knew she would enjoy watching Bo play tennis in one of her trademark skimpy-ish outfits, running…. She supposed they didn't make leather tennis clothes, but who cared? Bo Dennis looked good in E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G…Like when Bo had gone undercover at the high school as a gym teacher…

A goofy grin moved over the doctor's features.

Five minutes later and Dr. Lewis snapped out of her 'Tennis Dennis' haze. Good grief, what was it about this woman that could make Lauren reverse to her geeky awkward teenage self in an instant?

She looked over at Jenna again and saw she was still asleep. Lauren remembered spending one of those rare moments of 'nothingness' with the woman on the couch. It had been the Summer of 2005, and Lauren had just taken her final exam to become a Yale doctor. Jenna too was wrapping up her exams and to celebrate the two had watched 9 hours of Star Trek Voyager, 9 hours of mindless entertainment to restock the senses with adventures, wormholes, and aliens at warp speed, instead of dreary medical volumes, paper deadlines and exam jitters, and 9 hours of secretly crushing on Seven of Nine and Captain Katherine Janeway. Lauren smiled at the memory of the two of them under a blanket on an old couch in a dimly lit and badly ventilated room. Cheetos had stunk up the room, the rug had been one giant stain of diet coke and beer, and pillow fights had settled the debate on who had been the best starship Captain ever. It was Jean-Luc Picard by a pillow pin down in the third round! Winner, the soon to be Dr Lauren Lewis!

That night, in her own corner of the couch and Jenna in the other, had been one of the best memories of her student life. A 22-year-old Lauren knew she would be graduating with honors as a doctor from Yale University. The world lay at her feet, her Karen Beattie days lay behind her, a universe filled with endless possibilities and opportunities was opening up to her. She would specialize, of course, exotic diseases. But, she would do so in Africa, away from the safety of campus and out in the real world writing her own adventures and making a difference. Boldly so, where no one had gone before.

Life, however, had had different plans for her. Between those careless college days and now lay a whirlpool of memories and emotions. Most of dark and painful, orchestrated by the Fae, her work the only specks of light. It seemed her college friend had been dealt a similar hand. The only thing she could hope for was that Jenna too would one day see more light than dark again.

Lauren got out her phone suddenly worried about Bo and her visit to the Descamps.  
Had she texted her? Was she okay?  
"I'm okay, I miss you" she read on the screen. Bo knew Lauren better than she thought it seems. Another dreamy wall stare later and Lauren was pacing the room, working out how many square meters this place was.

Had they needed her at the lab, perhaps? Was there a mail from the lab? Had they found a replacement for her? She got her phone out again and called her assistant. Two rings later boring, but diligent lab technician John Harris picked up. They hadn't needed her at the lab, there had been no update on the test results –Lauren knew that had been a long shot. The results wouldn't come in for days-, and there was no update on a possible replacement. Then, something on her phone caught her attention and her face lit up in a smile.

 **Outside the Sullivan Residence**

Light was fading as Mark Thorne stood in front of door number 305 NE Street. He had already rung the bell on four times without anyone answering. He walked back to where the police detail was posted and tapped one of the policemen on duty on the shoulder. When he turned around, Mark recognized the man as Jim Brady, one of his dad's colleagues who would come to the gym to spar with him

'Jim, did you see anyone leave the house?' 'There's no answer'

'No, let's go check it out'

Jim and Mark walked to the back of the house, and looked through the windows. Mark saw an ash blond woman curled up on the couch. From what he could tell from her breathing, she was vast asleep.

'That's Jenna, I suppose' 'But where the heck is Lauren?'

Jim got on his radio and called his colleague Jason to join them at the house. The three of them took different sides of the house looking through windows to see if they could find Lauren or if they could find one of the doors unlocked. Mark got lucky trying one of the side doors, and beckoned the police officers.

Mark's panther instincts kicked in as he silently and stealthily moved through the house. The three men secured the living room leaving Jason behind to watch over Jenna. As Jim and Mark backtracked to the hallway, they both heard stumbling upstairs, and Lauren's voice shrieking out.

'DON'T YOU DARE!' 'STOP RIGHT THERE!'

'Mark quickly shifted into full panther mode, his heart now racing, clearing the stairs in three leaps, Behind him Jim Brady's skin covered itself scales, making his skin impregnable.

One more leap and Mark's panther alter ego broke down the door of the room Lauren's cries were coming from.

'I'VE GOT YOU NOW PIKA…. ' Lauren's cry of victory was cut midsentence as she went flying midair and landed on the bed with a thud and a panther on her'

'Pikachu' she finished her sentence. The shifter turned to his naked human form again in an instant.

'Hi, Mark' Lauren said pinned down and very much aware of his naked body on top of her…  
'Well,…this is slightly awkward' Lauren mumbled waiting out the minute or two it always took for young shifters to regain consciousness after a transformation to their human form.

'Lauren!' Mark flustered and turned a deep burgundy red as he scrambled to get off of Lauren hitting his head against a shelf mounted on the wall in his escape. Mark snatched a pillow from the bed to cover his most sensitive region.

'I'm sorry, I thought something was wrong, and eh, I …I transformed…hence the naked…nakedness,..' Mark rambled uncomfortably clutching his pillow.  
'Oh my God, oh my God…I just jumped on Bo's wife!' 'NAKED!' He yelped horrified 'She'll go blue-eyed on me!' 'She'll suck me dry!' 'Who could blame her?' 'That's how these crimes of passion happen!' He rambled.

'PLEASE don't tell Bo about this!' He suddenly squeaked with wide eyes.

'WH-What?' NO, NO! 'There was nothing wrong, I was just playing Pokem..' Lauren broke off her sentence and offered an embarrassed smile. 'I was just playing Pokemon' The Dr. with five degrees and over a 100 published papers admitted.

'But eh' 'No reason to tell Bo about..' Lauren gestured widely to where Mark was still clutching his pillow. 'This'

'Phew!' Mark breathed relieved, then his eyes went wide again and he stormed out of the room to the top of the stairs. 'EH EVERY.. - EVERYTHING IS FINE, JIM!' 'N-NO NEED TO COME UP!'

Lauren snatched her phone from the bed, righted herself quickly and, crossed the room pulling open the closet on the far end of the room. She immediately found what she looking for and tossed a grey bathrobe to a grateful Mark who'd returned to the room.

'Thanks, my clothes are probably somewhere downstairs' 'Sorry, again' he said blushing.

'Mark, is Jim here too?' Lauren asked an uneasy feeling settling in her stomach.

'And Brad ' Mark replied as he put on the bathrobe.

'Then why is it so quiet?'


	3. Chimaera: Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **The Sullivan Residence**

'Then why is it so quiet?' The question hung on Lauren's lips.

An eerie feeling took hold of Mark as he realized she was right. Being closest to the door, he turned and put an unsteady hand on the doorknob. When the door opened, Mark saw Jim lying on the floor, in a pool of blood that was still expanding. Lauren and Mark rushed to his side and flipped him over. There was nothing Lauren could do, his throat had been slit and his entire body had been brutally assaulted, riddled with deep cuts.

'BRAD?' Mark shouted 'BRAD?!' Mark's heart was pounding out of his chest.

Lauren put a hand on the young man crouched next to her and met his panicked eyes.

'Mark, we need to get out of here as quickly as possible'

Mark nodded and inhaled deeply to steady himself.

'My car is parked just down the street'

'Shift' Lauren directed.

Mark's breathing had settled enough for him to shift, and as he did the angst the youngster had felt vanished completely. Coursing through his veins and muscles now, was the pure and raw power of the majestic black panther. Instinct took over, he was no longer the prey, he was the hunter.

With the panther's eyes narrowed and on alert, his ears down and his razor sharp teeth slightly exposed, Lauren and Mark made their way downstairs. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the panther exposed the full length of his deadly fangs in a terrifying, deep snarl. Every muscle in the predator 's body was tensed. His night vision had allowed him to see a type of dark glow moving in the evening light, but he knew that to human eyes it was virtually undetectable. Mark had placed himself protectively in front of Lauren and was staring the shadow down. But then the shimmer flashed and before Mark could react, he heard Lauren screaming as she took a blow to the head and was thrown sliding over the living room floor. With one giant leap, Mark was by her side once more, ready to kill or be killed. Behind him, Lauren scrambled and backed up against the wall looking for as much cover as she could find. The panther instinctively backed up with her, a menacing snarl emanating from deep within his throat intended for the invisible attacker. Mark could feel and hear Lauren's anxiety. He heard her heart pounding in her chest, her rapid breathing, he could even feel her breath on his coat. It was the same way he could now tell that the creature was gone, it had left the house, and Mark shifted back to his human form.

'It's gone' he said turning to Lauren.

'Jenna' 'Brad'

Lauren got up and ran as fast as her unsteady legs could carry her towards the living room.

'Oh, no!'

All help for the young deputy, Bradley Lanning, came too late as he lay sprawled out in the middle of the living room, killed the same way Jim had been. Jenna, however, was still sound asleep on the couch. Mark grabbed a blanket from the other couch and wrapped it around his waist covering himself a second time, and then lifted Jenna from her make-shift bed. With Jenna in his arms, he and Lauren got out of the house as quickly as they could.

They laid Jenna down on the backseat, and Mark turned the ignition.

'Let's get out of here'

'The kids!' 'We need to get the kids and Sophie!'

Who?

'Jenna sent her kids to her sister's home, she lives down the street' 'They aren't safe either' 'It's number 385'

'Okay, okay' ' You go get them, I'll stay here with Jenna and call my dad' 'Don't go inside the house, make sure I can see you from the street'

'Okay'

Two minutes later, Lauren hastily made her way to the front door of number 385. She rang the doorbell, and waited.

It wasn't long before she heard a voice singing she hadn't heard in years, a voice that used to haunt her dreams. When Allison opened the door, Lauren looked straight into the eyes of the first woman she had slept with, the first woman she had fallen in love in and the first person who had ever broken her heart.

'Lauren?'

'Ally, get Nathan and Rohan' 'We need to go, now'  
'Just do it!' Lauren spurred when she saw the hesitation on Kate's face. 'Jenna's in the car'' Go!'

Allison didn't argue reading the look on Lauren's face and went back in to get both boys. Two minutes later, Mark's minivan took off again'

'What did Dyson say?'

'We're taking them to the Gym' 'It's the safest place, he'll meet us there'

'What the hell was that thing, Mark?'

'I don't know'

 **Outside of Dyson's Gym**

Mark's minivan pulled in on the parking lot right behind Dyson's gym. Lauren got out of the car, desperate for fresh air. If she had to diagnose herself, she would have to say she had a concussion, With the world spinning in front of her, Lauren steadied herself on the doorframe. Only moments later Dyson's dark grey Dodge Charger pulled in. First out the car was Bo, who sped to Lauren's side, and wrapped her up in her arms.

When Bo broke the hug, Lauren felt Bo's stare on her scanning, assessing, resting on the big clot of blood in Lauren's hairline and then on Lauren's unfocused eyes.

'Concussion' was the last word Lauren uttered before everything went black. Adrenaline had kept Lauren going, but with the arrival of Bo safety and shelter were implied. She knew her body and mind could collapse and Bo would be there to catch her.

Feeling Bo's energy flow through her, was a bewildering but warm sensation. A golden glow, loving, electrifying and then a tingly pull from deep within the recesses of her mind. As the world came back into focus, one fleck of light at a time, so did the strength in her legs return and the wound on her head vanish. She heard Dyson's voice talking to Bo.  
'Take my car, take her home, we'll talk tomorrow'  
He tossed her his car keys and joined his son leading the Sullivan family into the gym.

 **Lauren's apartment**

The drive over from Dyson's place to Lauren's apartment took a mere 25minutes, but it took only 5 minutes for the exhausted doctor to fall back asleep. Bo didn't have the heart to wake her up, so she carried her up the apartment and put Lauren in bed. The succubus sat at the end, and stared at Lauren. The doctor had narrowly escaped death, and Bo's mind had gone frantic from the moment Mark had called his father.

A shadow that could strike at any second with devastating consequences. Would Bo be strong enough to defeat this creature? Up till now, Lauren had been reasonably safe. She had had the protection of the Dark Fae, but with Evony gone as The Morrigan, there was no one to enforce loyalty towards other members of the Dark Fae, let alone a human, let alone someone who had just quit the Dark Fae. How long would it take before anyone and everyone knew where the doctor lived?

Only yesterday Lauren had said that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Bo, and here Bo was, the next day, terrified that someone would take that life away from them before it had even begun. Going into this night, Bo knew two things.

1) She wouldn't sleep a wink

2) Tomorrow would have to be a day of change.

And so, she stayed awake all night, watching over Lauren, polishing her swords and thinking about the future.

When Lauren awoke, it was morning already. The spot next to her in the bed had been unslept in, but she could hear something like chairs being moved and then footsteps on the stairs. Bo's face popped from behind the door.

'Morning, love'

Lauren raised a brow glancing over at Bo ' What ya got there?'

Oh, this? Bo turned and swung the tray she had been carrying in view of the doctor  
'Just breakfast' 'Thought you might be peckish' Bo said with a smile.

As Bo walked up with the tray, Lauren saw freshly squeezed orange juice, scrambled eggs, buns, all sorts of different spreads and yoghurt, rhubarb jam, granola and a pot of Lauren's favorite Earl grey tea.

After last night, breakfast in bed was the last way Lauren thought her day would start out, but she was hungry, and whatever quiet time she could have with Bo before they had to face the storm again, she would embrace wholeheartedly.

'I'm impressed'

'I know, who knew I could make eggs?'

Lauren chuckled.

'You even remembered what tea I like'

'I pay attention from time to time'

'Quite a treat'

'You deserve it' Bo put the palm of her hand to Lauren's cheek. Lauren closed her eyes and leaned into it. 'You're so beautiful'

'I am?'

'Gorgeous' 'Breathtaking' 'Always'

Lauren leaned in, cupped Bo's face and kissed the woman she loved.

When Lauren finished her last spoon of yoghurt, she eyed the toast eating succubus in front of her.

'So, what's the plan for today?'

'We're meeting the family at 11am at the Dal'' But before that, there is something we should discuss'

'Our living arrangements?'

Bo smiled looking at the piece of toast she had just put down and nodded.

'Yes' 'Well, your living arrangement, I guess' she said with some degree of trepidation.

Lauren frowned at the succubus, and Bo's heart sank.

'Look, honey' ' I totally understand if you're not ready for that!' 'I mean, I want to start my life with you' 'I want to start our life' 'But, …..' 'But, I know we're living together because my house is gone, and I have no other place to go except for maybe a hotel' 'And…, I'm broke, so even a hotel isn't really an option for the moment' 'And see… maybe you just want your space is what I'm thinking, I mean you saw what my place looked like, I'm a complete slob and you're so tidy…'

'Bo' Lauren's frown grew wider. ' Don't call me 'tidy'

'Oh, yeah… sorry' 'I just don't want to rush things with you, just because, in this case, moving in together would be easier' 'I mean we JUST got back together…'

'Honey, you're rambling' Lauren said gently as she intertwined her fingers with Bo's

'Bo, I want to live with you' Lauren said holding the Succubus' gaze'I want my life to be us' 'Life is too short, and I know we have a crazy life, and things are beyond crazy right now, they are insane and dangerous, but it only makes me want start our life together more'

Bo smiled 'Then we need to find a new house' 'We can't stay here' 'We need to leave, today'

'I'll start packing'

'I'll help'

 **The Dal Riata 11am**

'Do we have any idea what this thing could be?' Bo asked

'Well, from what the boy panther describes' Evony said with glass of scotch in hand ' I guess it could be a Glimmer'

'What's a Glimmer?'

'Kind of what it sounds like, they're a type of Wood Elf that appear and disappear at will, they 'glimmer' from one place to the next.

Dyson chimed in 'I've never heard of a Glimmer'

'Well, I suppose you're a little young for them' They're almost extinct' ''Which honestly, they brought on themselves' 'Whoever thinks passivism is a smart political tactic is just asking to be hunted, if you ask me' Evony stated

'Hunted?'

'Yes, like the humans…' 'Pardon, WE…' Evony corrected. 'Have fox hunting?' 'You'd hunt a Glimmer, you knew they'd never fight back, but boy were they fast!' Evony said with childish delight.

'YOU've actually hunted one' Bo's voice sounded indignant You know what…' Bo shook her head 'Never mind,… if they are such a passive race, can our attacker be a Glimmer?' 'I mean, that thing killed in seconds with deadly precision'

'Like I said, I've never heard of a violent Glimmer, it's just not in their nature, but what the boy panther describes, sounds like a Glimmer'

'Can you stop calling me ' _boy'_ Panther' 'I'm right here, for Goodness' sakes!' Mark protested.

Evony raised her glass, her eyebrows slightly frowning as if thinking over Mark's request.

'Child panther?' She offered.

'Alright, so how do we protect ourselves against one?' Bo cut in.

'You can't' 'They are faster than any other Fae, even a panther, and they are almost invisible' 'There's no incantation, no ward that can keep you safe from them' 'There's never been any need to' Evony offered.

'So, basically, they could be here with us right now, watching, observing, and we wouldn't even know it?'

'Ye…'

'No, actually' 'When that thing was out of the house, I just KNEW it was' Mark interrupted.

In the background, Lauren had been rifling through the Book of Fae. 'You shouldn't have been able to do that, says here that they are undetectable to sound and smell'. 'And they ARE extinct' 'There hasn't been a Glimmer sighted in over 2000 years'

So, it's not a Glimmer? Dyson's voice again.

A creature that can drain life, 'glimmer', pierce the armor of an Harnas Fae? Lauren's heart sank as she realized what was likely going on 'If it is the same creature, it must be a Chimaera'

'A what?' Bo asked.

'From Greek mythology Χίμαιρα, literally meaning "she-goat"' Lauren elaborated catching Bo's bewildered look 'It's a mythical beast' 'The ancient Greeks depicted it as a lion with the head of a goat sticking out from his back, and the tail of a serpent, but since then it's come to denote what we think of as a hybrid, a mixture of creatures'

'Oh, okay' Bo nodded.

'Unfortunately, it's not good news' 'I think somehow, someone must have found out how to combine different powers into one Fae' 'It would explain the violent behavior and why Mark is able to detect the creature' 'Some of the genes of the Glimmer must have been suppressed'

'A scientist did this?' 'Who could do that?' Bo asked.

'I guess I could with enough time, resources and Fae to practice on' 'The Ash asked me to assist with the experiments when I was first 'recruited', but unsuccessfully so. Lauren exhaled 'Twenty-six test subjects died from those attempts' 'In the end the project was abandoned because it was just too risky, but we were making headway.' The head of the project at the time was Dr Kenneth Shaughnessey, but he's been dead for over three years.

Bo looked over at Evony who had become awfully quiet and invisible in her corner of the room

'Did the Dark experiment too?'

'Of course we did' she said casually, and took a sip of her drink.

'How far did you get?' Lauren asked both intrigued and appalled.

'Nowhere near this result' 'I would have never signed the treaty if we had!'

'There was a treaty?'

'The research was highly controversial, kind of like human stem cell and embryo testing. A lot of the noble families are against it, because it 'muddies the blood'' Evony gestured and rolled her eyes. 'Much like how marrying and procreating with a human is perceived.' She added with a smirk directed at Bo and Lauren. 'Other families, of course, funded the research, but what the Dark was doing leaked at one point and the public fallout wasn't pretty.' 'That's how I won the election' 'The scandal was too much for Atticus, the Morrigan of the time. So, we signed a treaty, Light and Dark committed themselves to ceasing all and every experiments.

'Who went rogue?' Bo questioned.

'I don't know, like I said, we were nowhere near successful, I would have found a way to continue if we had been, but at the time, it was just a big money pit anyway.

'Who had access to the research then?'

'No one should have', Evony said sincerely mystified 'It was all destroyed, I made sure of that'

'What about the researchers?'

'Like I said 'Evony cocked her head 'I made sure there was no trace left'

'They're dead?' Bo asked incredulously. 'You had them killed?'

'Well, what did you expect?' 'It was my first year as Morrigan, I couldn't exactly afford to be messy'

'Well, obviously, some of it got out either from the dark or the light side' Dyson stated.

'There is one other question we should be asking' Bo pondered. 'Why the hell did that thing kill Jim and Bradley, but not Jenna?'

 **Outside the Dal Riata**

From the shadows the creature did what his father had asked. He listened and observed in perfect cover. Not a breath, not a whisper, not a sound, not a smell would betray his presence, and it amused him that the boy panther thought he would be able to detect him. He had been toying with the child that night, indulging himself, amusing himself to see how the boy would react. He was a perfect specimen, a perfect creature, stronger than any Fae, and uninhibited by the childish restraints of conscience and morality. When his father would finally allow him to kill them all, he would once again strike with ruthless swiftness, and after the kill he would bathe in their blood, and it would be glorious. He would rub their blood on him, and feast in the strength of it. It would only makes his power greater, and make him more worthy for what was to come. Before he glimmered, a wave of black liquid coated his eyes, and he grinned reveling in the power he felt surging through him.

 **And that concludes chapter 3, only one more to come for this story, but I have about 7 of these stories written. This first one is, if I'm not mistaken the shortest one, so there will be plenty of reading material to come! Anyway, keep the reviews coming if anyone is interested in reading more :-)**

 **All faults are mine.**


	4. Chimaera: Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **The Dal Riata upstairs apartment**

Bo lifted two suitcases putting them on the bed as Lauren was unpacking another.

'Home sweet home' she said 'Well, for tonight, and maybe another couple more days' 'Dyson said he put the rest of your stuff in the basement for now'.

'Not bad, not bad at all' Lauren said looking around the bedroom 'I mean, we can get lavishly drunk at the bar now, and not have to worry about getting home' 'I could get used to that'

Bo laughed 'I remember you warning me about too much drinking at one time' 'Something about not wanting to be on the receiving end of a drunken succubus booty call?'

Lauren turned around and reached for Bo's hands pulling her in 'Well, you're my girlfriend now' 'I expect' Lauren kissed her lips 'a lot' kissed her again 'of ' traced her tongue and lips in Bo's neck 'succubus' nibbled softly 'booty'.

Dyson cleared his throat' 'Sorry to interrupt, but we have to go.' 'I just got a call, there's been a new attack' 'Looks like the same MO as Jake Sullivan'

'Damn, Dyson, have you no sense of timing?' Bo scoffed.

Lauren pecked the brunette on the lips. 'Continue this later?'

'Always'

 **Dyson's car**

'So you guys are moving in together?'

There was just the faintest whiff of jealousy in Dyson's voice, but Bo could also hear sincere curiosity. It was always an awkward conversation to have with an ex, but what she wanted most of all, was to always be honest with Dyson.

'We are' 'I love her, Dyson' 'I'm also terrified of losing her'

Dyson frowned 'Cause she's human?'

'No, not really' 'I had this dream the day before yesterday' Bo realized as she started to tell Dyson about her dream how much the nightmare had been weighing on her, how much she had wanted to confide in someone, and so she told him every little detail, including how pale and drained Lauren had looked, and how powerless Bo had been to stop whoever dragged Lauren to hell with 'them'.

'It didn't feel like a dream' 'That's the worst part' 'I know the last couple of weeks have been unreal and it would almost be natural to have these types of dreams, but it was more than that' 'It was like seeing the future' 'And, I can't deal with that' 'I can't deal with another death' 'Not her death'

'I swore fealty to you a long time ago, Bo' 'We'll protect her'

Bo nodded.

'You know, I didn't only ask about you and her living together for my own peace of mind'

It was Bo's turn to frown at Dyson 'What do you mean?'

'You're looking for a house, right?'

'Well, yeah' 'If you happen to find one rent free with all the modern comforts like walls and decent plumbing, please let me know' 'Electricity is a plus' 'It's not like Lauren and I are what you call wealthy'

'I don't know about Lauren, I'm sure the Ash never really paid her bucket loads, but you..'

 **Five minutes later**

Bo sat in the car trying to process what the wolf had just told her. There was a lot of frowning involved then the start of a question, resulting in just a vowel coming out and a head that tilted from side to side, followed by a deep inhale, then another failed question…Finally, she landed on the perfect thing to say.

'Shut up!'

Dyson laughed amused 'Bo, out of all the things you've learnt about your family these last couple of years, you're surprised they have money?' 'You're royalty'

'Hey! 'I know Trick was a monarch, but he had to flee and go undercover like eons ago' 'And THAT much money?' 'I just always assumed he'd left everything behind'

'Some of it' 'Though I'm sure if you headed back to Ireland, to Dal Riata, that the Fae there would welcome you as their rightful queen' 'As THE 'Mac Cionaoith'

'THE Mac Cion…' what now?

THE 'Mac Cionaoith, 'Mac Cionaoith is the Irish equivalent of the name McKenna, lass. Dyson said his voice suddenly heavy with his native accent. 'We say you are THE McKenna when you are the head of your house, which you are as Trick's heir'

'Hah!' Bo chuckled and laughed 'I'm not even going to reply to that'

'Trick could never really openly spend his money here'. 'It would have raised too many questions, and he never wanted people to know he was the Blood King.' 'But you, with Trick gone, and you as his rightful heir, there is no reason for you not to claim your birthright.' 'And I don't just mean the money, claiming your birthright means taking your place among the noble families, among our royalty.'

'Why would I want to do that?'

'To effect change?' 'As soon as he went undercover, Trick only ever did that from the shadows. 'But, he did it for the good of the Fae' 'He knew that you would be able to take up an active role if you wanted to' 'I think he would of liked that'

I'm not political, Dyson. I have no tolerance for bullshit and no patience for endless discussion.'

'Well, I'm sure you would carve out your own special way of being political' 'Just think about it' 'Whether you want to take on that role or not, just remember that you ARE the McKenna now' 'Meanwhile, there's nothing wrong with spending some of that money on a house.'

 **Fifteen minutes later, the Stewart Residence**

Bo and Dyson arrived at the scene of the crime, and all thoughts about buying a house instantly fell away seeming superficial and irrelevant. The Stewarts had been a family of 5: Paul Stewart, a 40-year-old social worker, Tina, a 37-year-old doctor and their three daughters; Molly, Danny and the youngest, who had just learnt how to walk, Meghan. When Bo and Dyson entered the house, the amount of blood covering the walls and the floor was enormous. It seemed that Paul Stewart had been assaulted at the door, his throat slit, but somehow he had managed to fall and then crawl his way to the living room, probably in a desperate attempt to warn his wife who lay beside her husband in an equally large pool of blood. The bodies themselves were drained like Jake Sullivan had been. The sight in the upstairs bedroom had been even more horrendous. The three girls had been murdered in much the same way their parents had been. Their beds one large stain of blood, but instead of having been completely drained, their faces were left untouched, as if they were simply sleeping. Bo couldn't utter a word, instead, she had to use every ounce of strength she had in her body to fight back tears, rage and nausea.

 **Dyson's place**

Lauren used Dyson's spare key to get into the gym, and headed straight for the kitchen. She placed the heavy bags of groceries on the kitchen table and started unloading them. Jenna's head popped in from the living room.

'Lauren'

'I thought you could use some groceries' 'Dyson did tell you, I would be stopping by, right?' 'I didn't scare you?'

'No, no, I just didn't know it was going to be you.'

'I wanted to check up on you.'

Jenna nodded, visibly moved by Lauren's visit and walked up to her friend to give her a tight hug.

'How are the kids?' Lauren asked after they broke their embrace.

'They are as well as can be expected, I suppose.' 'Neither slept much last night, they…' 'Hold on, lemme help with that' Jenna started unpacking one of the other bags.

'They think about their dad' 'I do too' 'It keeps us up' 'Maybe you can ask your friend Bo to use her magic touch on them later?' 'I would really love for them to get some sleep'

'Of course.'

'And, wow, you really got us everything!'

'Well, I did remember that you're partial to Cheetos, and then I also remembered you were always ordering lemon chicken when we'd eat out.' Lauren pulled out a chicken and a couple of lemons. 'I actually have a good recipe for that.'

'You learnt how to cook?' 'Wow, I would not have guessed that' 'Not after you almost burnt our kitchen down trying to make us breakfast one time.'

Lauren laughed out loud 'Those were the days.' 'Not like you were all that great behind the cooker.'

'I was always better at cooking something up in the lab.' 'Jake was the cook at our house.' 'Ally too, she makes us dinner twice a week.'

'I was wondering about that.' 'She moved with you?' Lauren opened the fridge, stocking it with the sodas she'd gotten the family.

'When we had to flee, I had to tell Ally.' 'She's the only family I have ' Lauren nodded. Allison and Jenna had lost their parents to a car accident only a few years into studying at Yale, it had been a hard time for the two sisters, but the experience had brought them closer together. 'So she decided to come with us' 'She always had her own house and all, but she wanted to be near the kids'

'Where are the boys?'

'They're downstairs in the gym' 'Ally thought that if she could spar with them, it might take their minds off of things, and Dyson said he didn't mind.'

'Allison spars?'

'She did, she took some self-defense classes after the first time Jake and I had to move.' 'She was pretty good it seems.' 'But, that's Ally for ya, whatever she starts, she excels at.'

'So annoying sometimes'

Jenna laughed ' Look who's talking, you were EXACTLY the same!'

'No, no, I'm horrible at anything physical, that was always Ally.' Lauren offered with a smile. It felt good to banter with an old friend like this, to feel normal.

'Hmm, maybe, but you were always better at the science' Jenna stated, then paused… 'She still misses you, you know'

Lauren had just put away the last of the groceries, a roll of Oreos and a bag of Cheetos, and raised a brow.

' ** _She_** broke up with _me_ , remember?'

'I know, but I think she regrets it' 'She's never really been with anyone else after you.' 'Nothing serious at least.'

'A lot has happened since then, Jenn' 'I'm sure she's fine with the way her life turned out.' 'Ally has always been a bit of a lone wolf'

'True.' 'So, tell me about you.' 'How did you get involved with the übermenschen?'

'It's a long story' 'Basically, they blackmailed me, got me to work for them for a long time'

'Sounds like them'

'You worked for them too, didn't you?'

Jenna sighed and then reluctantly nodded 'It's the only reason they kept us safe' 'Not like we had any money to offer them. 'Or, not the type of money the Fae are used to' 'So I did research for them' 'Jake designed houses for the rich and powerful' 'The last three years or so were actually not that bad'

'Did you know about the Chimaera project?' Lauren eyed her friend

'I'd heard of it' Jenna admitted 'Experiments conducted, top secret, before my time'

Why didn't you tell Bo and Dyson that you worked for the Dark Fae?

'I didn't know it was relevant, and I wasn't about to bite the hand that has been feeding me for the last three years by divulging classified information' 'I have a family I need to protect, Lauren' 'What is left of it anyway' 'That succubus is unaligned, and Dyson is Light' 'What did you expect me to do?'

 **The Stewarts' Garden**

The sight of the three children upstairs in their beds had been too much for Bo's body and mind to cope with. She ran out of the house to the garden and steadied herself on a huge oak tree as she saw the whole world swirl before her. She couldn't breathe, and she felt like she was going to vomit. Right before the world went dark, time slowed down. She could hear every rabbit rustle in the grass, every bird flap its wings and she could even hear water coursing through the oak tree's trunk to the branches and up to the leaves. Her eyes flashed a shade of blue and then she collapsed.

'Bo?' Dyson's voice sounded insistent

'Bo?' Her eyes fluttered open.

'Dyson'

The sick feeling in her stomach hadn't dissipated yet, so she turned and sped for the bushes.

'Are you okay?' she heard Dyson call.

'I'm alright' she shouted, wiped her mouth, and walked back to where Dyson was standing next to the oak tree 'As alright as people can be after this' ' We need to get this psycho, Dyson' As the succubus and the wolf headed back to the car, Bo saw that one of the big branches of the tree was dead, dried out….she could have sworn the tree had been completely green before.

 **The Dark Fae Lab**

Lauren peered at the 53rd solution she had tried today. As she stared at its structure a sigh from deep within arose. She closed her eyes, shook her head and moved on to the next sample. After half an hour she gave up. Science was getting her nowhere. She grabbed her keys from the desk, and headed for the Dark archive. If she couldn't geek this one out over a microscope, perhaps she would be able to nerd this out over the archive books'

 **Outside the Stewart's Residence**

Bo stood with the police report in hand

'Tina Stewart' 'That's the Light Fae doctor who replaced Lauren'

'Are you sure?' Dyson asked startled.

'Pretty sure' 'Somehow these people are all connected' 'My guts tells me that that arrogant asshole Descamps is right in the smack middle of this'

'Mine too' 'He's got an alibi though' 'His 27-year-old secretary likes to work long hours with him' 'They were there from 9.30 to 11.15pm'

'If what Lauren says is true, then he could also have the ability to be in two places at the same time' 'Didn't Evony say that some of the families actually funded the research? 'What if the Descamps did, and somehow they kept experimenting?' 'If they truly do descend from Hermes, then they've been around for millennia, they must have had access to Glimmers' 'I'm starting to think they were being hunted for more than just sport'

Dyson was nodding 'It's still's a big if'

' I know.' We need to figure out how the victims are related to one another' 'I'll head back to the lab, see what Lauren has uncovered, and what she knows about Tina'

'Okay, I'll follow up here' 'Take my car, I'll catch a ride back to the police station.'

 **The Dark Fae lab**

Bo leaned against the doorframe and glanced over at the beautiful blonde who had her nose stuck in a book oblivious to anything but the page.

'Hey'

Lauren turned and smiled.

'Hey, yourself.'

'Any luck on the samples?'

'Nope' 'None' 'That's why I'm reading these' Lauren picked up one of the heavy, leather bound books she had lying on her desk 'And actually, I might have found something'

Bo walked over and took a seat on the desk next to Lauren's 'Great, we can use some good news right now.'

Lauren frowned.

'I'll tell you in a second.' 'What ya got, doc?'

'Well, I couldn't find anything out from the samples, so I went to our working theory that this creature we are fighting is some sort of hybrid. It occurred to me that if our chimaera has some of the Glimmer's powers, it might also have some of its weaknesses or greatest weakness'

'Okay, but I thought you said they've been extinct for centuries.' 'So no research I would think then?'

'Correct!... and incorrect!' Lauren replied.

Bo raised a brow.

'They've been extinct for Millenia, actually' Lauren smiled, taking gleeful pleasure in correcting Bo.

Bo chuckled 'And the part I correctly assessed, my brilliant doctor?'

'That would be the research part.' 'You're right, there wasn't any done, BUT, you do remember Evony saying that some Fae used to hunt them, like as a sport?'

'You went looking for somebody's hunting diary?

'Precisely.'

'Brilliant!'

'Well, it's only brilliant if my working theory is correct'

'What is their weakness?'

'Direct sunlight' 'Glimmers are forest creatures, they live in indirect sunlight only, and they are extremely sensitive to very bright sunlight.' 'My guess is though, that our Chimaera is only sensitive to light when he is in glimmer mode, so it's tricky.'

'Sunlight, really?' 'Like a Vampire?'

'Actually, Vampires grew a tolerance to sunlight long ago'

'What?' 'Vampires exist?' 'They're real?' Bo asked incredulously.

'Babe, you're a Succubus.' 'Why would you question the fact that vampires exist?'

'I dunno' 'They're creepy!' Bo cringed a little 'With the fangs that shoot out and all that…' Bo gestured with her hands, trying to mimic the fangs. 'And the blood..'

Lauren rolled her eyes amused. 'They are perfectly integrated members of the Fae community'

'Yes, until they invite you to one of their blood-drinking soirees, and they suck you dry!'

'Babe' 'I've told you to stop watching those DVD's Kenzi left behind'

Bo scoffed. 'Pfttt' 'What else am I supposed to watch when I can't sleep?'

'Hmm' 'Let's revisit your sleeping issues at a later time, shall we?' Lauren said with a look that was equal parts glare and concern. Bo nodded, and redirected her focus to the task at hand.

'So…. I need artificial sunlight, no way he's going to glimmer during the day'

'Yes, and we don't know what else type of powers he has, so the sunlight is our best bet, my best bet' 'Fortunately, we had a couple of flashlights converted to artificial sunlight for experiments a couple of years back' 'I had them brought over' Lauren pointed to a wooden box in the corner of the room

'Okay, sunlight it is then'

'What's wrong?' Lauren asked seeing the worried look in Bo's eyes

Bo forced a faint smile 'You're getting too good at reading me' 'It's this case' 'We, eh…' Bo reached over for Lauren's hands and took a deep breath 'We found Tina Stewart dead' 'Same M.O. as Jake Sullivan'

'Tina?' Lauren repeated not completely comprehending. 'You mean Dr Stewart?'

'Yeah, your replacement with the Light Fae'

Lauren blinked, trying to process the information.  
'She had a family, three girls I think'

Bo nodded and bit her lip, the terrible images of the house flashing in her mind making her nauseous again. She felt Lauren's pulse racing as she read Bo's expression.

'They were all killed' Bo struggled 'We need to stop this guy, Lauren' 'He needs to die'  
'Jake was killed, you were attacked, and now your replacement has been murdered' 'What do you guys have in common?'

'The research' Lauren said almost immediately 'Tina was already on staff when I joined the Light Fae, she was one of Dr Shaughnessy's assistants like I was' 'And, I don't think Jake was ever the target, I think Jenna was' 'I talked to her earlier on' 'She's a molecular biologist, Bo, she's been working for the Dark Fae for God knows how long…'

'That's why they sheltered her' 'Another one of their human slaves'

Lauren nodded 'She must have known about the research too'

'But if Jenna was the target, why didn't the creature kill her when he had the chance at the house?' 'That still bugs me' 'It kills Jim, it kills Brad, but not Jenna while she's human, sleeping on the couch'

'I think that's the point...' Lauren said, a theory developing in her mind. 'She was no threat' 'When Faes shift, their instinct takes over. It's why you have a hard time …

'It's why I'm the skank of the family' Bo offered with a grin ' I get it'

'Don't put it that way' Lauren chided seriously.

Bo chuckled and offered Lauren a sympathetic grin ' Please continue'

'This creature becomes a predator when it shifts' 'I think it automatically targets the biggest threat first before moving on to the lesser threat.'

'So you think it took out Jim first because he was the strongest and then it moved to Brad..' 'Then it came back for Mark?'

'It's flimsy, I know. But, it's my best guess, I think this thing is very irrational, instinctual and rage driven during its shift' 'Come to think of it, this thing might be a 'regular Joe' during office hours, but at night…'

'He might be Mr. Hyde?'

'Exactly'

'Alright, so who is the next victim?' 'Who else would have known about the research?'

'Kenneth is dead, I can't think of any other scientist involved'

'Maybe we shouldn't be looking for a scientist' Bo sighed as her heart sank.

'Evony' Lauren muttered.

Bo looked outside, daylight was already fading.

'Call Dyson, call Vex and Mark and tell them to head to Evony's house!' 'Call Evony, and tell her to get out of the house to a public spot. '

'I'm going with you.'

'Babe, please don't.' ' I need you safe.' Bo said pleadingly.

Lauren was already putting flashlights in her bag. 'Look, that creature scared the life out of me, I'm not going to lie' 'But you need me, and Jake, Jenna, the kids, Tina...they all deserve me fighting for them' 'If the flashlights don't work, maybe I can improvise' Lauren said holding up five syringes. 'There is some very nasty stuff in there' 'If this stuff doesn't kill that thing, it may give you a fighting chance.'

Bo knew not to argue with Lauren.

'Lead the way, Dr Frankenstein.'

 **The Marquise Manor**

Evony? Bo shouted, as Dyson, Mark, Vex and Lauren trickled in behind her. There was no answer from the former Morrigan. Bo hoped that meant she had gotten out in time' They were inside of Evony's large entrance hall, the entire manor seemed deserted, but there was something in Bo that told her they were being watched. Mark and Dyson had felt it too and the two shifters were flaring their inner animal. Bo's sword caught the moon's reflection throwing patches of light in the room. Bo couldn't see anything, but she heard Mark's growl next to her.

'COME ON OUT, PSYCHO!' 'I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE' ' COME PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE'

A high pitched laugh resonated through the entrance hall, bouncing off the walls creating a debilitating pain bringing the entire party to its knees.

'The creature jumped down from the rafters and shrieked

'OWN SIZE?' The creature laughed maniacally. 'YOU HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I AM! It raged. 'NOW **BOW** AT MY FEET!' The creature's voice droned in their heads. His order was compelling, compulsory. Unable to stay standing, Bo, along with Mark and Dyson fell to their knees completely, and involuntarily obeyed by the creature's demand.

The only one able to resist, Vex gathered his strength and waved his hand, throwing the creature to the other side of the room. There was a loud thud and then moments later another high pitched laugh filled the room.

'IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?' The thing's voice was now low and menacing, Bo had barely recovered from the Siren attack when she saw a pair of green eyes narrowing on her. She tightened the grip on her sword, ready to lunge, but the creature, now a huge black panther jumped over Bo and came down on Mark burying his razor sharp claws and fangs in the boy's neck. Dyson jumped on the creature in an attempt to free his son, but it dematerialized in front of them only to laugh again from yet another corner of the room.

'LAUREN' Bo shouted 'GET MARK OUT OF HERE!' 'WE'LL DEAL WITH THIS!'

'BO!' Lauren shouted back, and threw one of the artificial sunlight flashlights she had with her. The Succubus caught it with one hand.

'YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR ME!' the voice rang out.

'NO MATCH?' 'YOU'RE A COWARD!' 'YOU ONLY COME OUT NOW BECAUSE YOU THINK THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO CHALLENGE YOU' 'FOR YEARS YOU'VE BEEN HIDING, AND EVEN NOW YOU REFUSE TO FIGHT ME!'

Bo shouted as her eyes flared a deep blue and she sucked the chi from Dyson and Vex who collapsed next to her. She had drained most of their energy, powering herself up but not all. If anything the encounters with her father had taught her a thing or two about control.

'As you want,…girly' Louis Descamps singsonged.

There was a kick to her stomach that sent her flying across the floor, the flash light tossed out of reach.

'Son of a …' Bo muttered as she scrambled to her feet. Descamps materialized in front of her, his skin was translucent, his eyes bulging' Bo lunged to grab him but she only caught air which made the Chimaera burst into laughter again. 'YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!'

'I AM A GOD!' 'AND SOON YOU WILL ALL BE DEAD!' he raged this time materializing mere inches from Bo's face. ''THE ONES WHO OPPOSE US, THE UNDERFAE, THE HUMANS AND…'

This time it was Bo's time to laugh. 'YOU'RE NOT A GOD, DESCAMPS!' Bo spat, clutching her stomach. 'YOU ARE A PATHETIC LITTLE MAN WITH AN OVERSIZE BANK ACCOUNT WHO HAD TO HUNT DEFENSELESS CREATURES TO MAKE YOU INTO 'WHATEVER' IT IS YOU ARE NOW' The Succubus chuckled while wincing. 'BY THE WAY, HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU, YOU HAVE SERIOUSLY BAD BREATH?'

A kick to the head and a sharp pain in her temple followed immediately and seemingly out of nowhere. 'Damnit, that hurt' Bo cursed as she found herself on the floor again

'SUCH FILTH' The rafters spat in delight.

'I HEAR PEPPERMINTS CAN GO A LONG WAY WITH HALITOSIS' Bo offered up to the vast darkness around her. The brunette knew her taunts would not go unpunished, but Lauren had told her this thing would be susceptible to its most basic instincts and rage. Right now she needed to rile Descamps up enough so he'd get careless.

'WHACK' Blood exploded from Bo's nose. Another blow to her side, another rib broke.

'How DARE you?!' ' YOU ARE A TRAILER TRASH WHORE! A DEGENERATE, VERMIN!'

Her succubus pulled at the energies around her. She found none but Dyson and Vex' and immediately cut the flow.

'PATHETIC!' The rafters scorned' YOUR SUCCUBUS POWERS WONT WORK ON ME, WHORE!' 'SUCH A SIMPLETON YOU ARE, BO DENNIS' 'I SUPPOSE THAT HUMAN OF YOURS IS THE BRAIN OF THE OPERATION' 'HOW I WILL DELIGHT IN KILLING HER'

'YOU'RE DELUSIONAL, DESCAMPS!' Bo angered quickly at the mention of Lauren's name. 'I WILL KILL Y…'

Bo couldn't breathe…Descamps' hands were around her neck. She felt strength seep out of her, as if he was sucking her Chi. Descamps' eyes flickered blue. He picked her up without effort, Bo's legs kicked the air hoping to find purchase, but he threw her away without effort.

'NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND, VERMIN?' 'I AM THE NEXT STEP' Descamps' voice thundered in Bo's head as she lay broken on the floor. Bo's heart rate sped up, she'd underestimated Descamps and the power he wielded. Her breathing was shallow, ribs pressing against a long, or perhaps they'd already perforated one.

Tunnel vision made the succubus dizzy, but then her dizziness inexplicably lifted. She spotted the flashlight Lauren had given her. It was busted, but perhaps it would still work. It was worth a shot. Bo lifted her head.

'You're despicable' Descamps was again only inches away, he was whispering now. 'Filth' Bo knew she had to make her move, she needed to take him out, she knew he was about to land his final blow. Her body struggled, resisted, only requesting inches of movement when she was asking for meters.

'EVERYONE YOU KNOW WILL DIE, WHORE' 'I WILL SEE TO THAT'

Bo's blood boiled, her eyes flickering to blue.

'I will personally squeeze the life out of that human girlfriend of yours' 'I will make my way through the ranks… **'** he was close by, Bo felt the words almost graze by her cheek.

Bo's hand reached for the flashlight. Pain momentarily forgotten; she remembered what Lauren had told her. She needed to get the light on him when he was shifting back and forth in glimmer mode. But how in hell was she supposed to do that when she had no idea where he was?

The flashlight was her secret weapon, once revealed, the jig would be up.

One shot….No pressure… What's new right? Bo winced…the Succubus took over, her eyes a steady blue, her muscles suddenly listening to the request of standing up.

'NO MORE GAMES' Bo said not recognizing her own voice. Finding Descamps suddenly became a question of feeling as Bo gave full control over to the creature inside of her. She did not feel him brush by, she did not catch a glimpse of him or heard him, but she was aware of him; his darkness was palpable, trackable now.

Fingers closed…she noticed him passing….light flicked on.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRGH! The Chimaera screamed as his skin riddled with burn masks.

The Succubus' hand wrapped around Descamps neck; he was now a toy to her, a rag doll like she had been only minutes earlier. She lifted him up by the neck kicking the air, choking.

'WHAT ARE YOU?' He managed to croak.

'HAVEN'T YOU HEARD?' I'M HADES' BEAST!' The Succubus said then snapped Descamps' neck, and threw him down the hall. Bo's eyes almost immediately returned to their normal brown. She turned towards Vex and Dyson and let her energy flow back to them before she collapsed.

 **Outside Marquise Manor**

The creature stood grieving over the body of his father feeling his loss deeply. But his father's sacrifice had not been in vain. The master had foreseen this. The master had foreseen it all and the father had gladly donated his life for the cause. For now the creature would have to retreat to the shadows, and the gentleman would have to rise. But, the creature would be waiting, he would be anticipating, he would wait for the right moment to strike and when he did, he would relish and bathe in its bloody glory.

 **Several minutes later**

Bo slowly heard sounds come back to her and shades come into view. When her eyes fluttered open completely Lauren sat beside her, holding her hand. 'You're a sight for sore eyes' she said softly smiling, and then asked

'How's Mark?'

'He's fine' Lauren replied, making a full recovery. 'How are you feeling?'

'Bit low on energy, but I'm okay'

Lauren nodded, and stated manner of factually 'I've talked to Dyson about that, I'll call him' 'He can help with that'

'No' 'He should be with his son'

'Bo, you need to heal'

'I do, but not with Dyson'

 **And that concludes chapter 4 and Chimaera. Thanks for the reviews!I'm super stoked about them! Please keep 'em coming cause they inspire me to keep writing :) With regards to the interaction between Lauren and her ex, there will be more of that, but the thick of it won't be right away. What I basically wanted to do with this first episode/story was set out some plot lines and create some characters that would pop up throughout the continuation of these stories. Creating a 'Lauren ex' was a given for me for a number of reasons, and she'll be there to 'muck' things up in due time :) But, for now there is more Bo and Lauren 'love, adventure and drama' coming up.**


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